3393RP
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3393RP
On March 10, his 102nd birthday, Brigadier General Robert Cardenas flew his final mission. He participated in many historic advancements in aviation, and was the last surviving command officer of the Bell X-1 program.
Cardenas was born in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, on March 10, 1920. His family moved to San Diego when he was a small child. In 1940, a year after enlisting in the US Army, he became an aviation cadet.
In 1941, Cardenas was commissioned a lieutenant in the US Army Air Corps, and in March 1944, parachuted from a burning B-24 and was interned in Switzerland. In early 1945, he graduated from a test pilot school at Wright Field, and began a career that was punctuated by important and historic events in the formative years of jet aircraft and the development of post-WWII bombers.
In 1947, Major Cardenas was the command pilot for the B-29 that carried the Bell X-1 aloft, and shortly after that became the head of the flight test division at Muroc Air Force Base. He was also the chief test pilot of the Northrop XB-35 and YB-49 flying wing bomber program. In interviews later in life, Cardenas would detail his misgivings about the aircraft, its unsuitability as a bombing platform, and how he warned Captain Glen Edwards about its dangerous propensity to tuck inverted when stalled.
During the Vietnam War, Colonel Cardenas flew combat missions in the F-105 Thunderchief. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1968, and served in several important command assignments in the following years.
General Cardenas retired from the Air Force in 1973, and continued serving his country in various duties, including positions with the Veterans Administration. I became aware of his career and accomplishments through his willingness to appear in television documentaries about the X-1 and XB-35/YB-49 programs. He served his country well.
Cardenas was born in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, on March 10, 1920. His family moved to San Diego when he was a small child. In 1940, a year after enlisting in the US Army, he became an aviation cadet.
In 1941, Cardenas was commissioned a lieutenant in the US Army Air Corps, and in March 1944, parachuted from a burning B-24 and was interned in Switzerland. In early 1945, he graduated from a test pilot school at Wright Field, and began a career that was punctuated by important and historic events in the formative years of jet aircraft and the development of post-WWII bombers.
In 1947, Major Cardenas was the command pilot for the B-29 that carried the Bell X-1 aloft, and shortly after that became the head of the flight test division at Muroc Air Force Base. He was also the chief test pilot of the Northrop XB-35 and YB-49 flying wing bomber program. In interviews later in life, Cardenas would detail his misgivings about the aircraft, its unsuitability as a bombing platform, and how he warned Captain Glen Edwards about its dangerous propensity to tuck inverted when stalled.
During the Vietnam War, Colonel Cardenas flew combat missions in the F-105 Thunderchief. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1968, and served in several important command assignments in the following years.
General Cardenas retired from the Air Force in 1973, and continued serving his country in various duties, including positions with the Veterans Administration. I became aware of his career and accomplishments through his willingness to appear in television documentaries about the X-1 and XB-35/YB-49 programs. He served his country well.
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